Twists & Turns
by TheWitchNextDoor
Summary: She never expected to lose Cliffjumper. She never expected to be a single mother. She never expected to be trapped in a cave, and she certainly never expected to befriend a Decepticon. [Arcee/Cliffjumper, Starscream/OC, 1 of A Sparkling Series]
1. Prologue: Excuses

Title: Twists & Turns

Pairings: Arcee/Cliffjumper ; Hints of Starscream/OC [Nova]

Summary: Arcee never expected to lose Cliffjumper. She never expected to be a single mother. She never expected to be trapped in a cave, and she certainly never expected to befriend a Decepticon. :: Arcee leaves for an early patrol, not yet ready to share her news with the Autobots. A bit of unstable energon and two femmes in the wrong place at the right time lands Arcee in a cave with a Decepticon without a name. She expected a fight, and instead found a shoulder to lean on, and someone in serious need of a little girl talk.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, save for obvious OCs.

* * *

Arcee was running out of excuses. She didn't have anything left to say, no more reasons for going to recharge so early or sneaking an extra energon cube in the middle of the night, not for herself or the others. She'd blamed grief, at first. They all had. It made sense, after all. Cliffjumper had been her partner, her friend, her lover. The light of her spark. Losing him had been hard on her, and it brought back the grief she felt for Tailgate. She hadn't been able to save him, either, and it hurt to know she'd lost her two dearest friends and she couldn't do a damn thing about it.

The thing about grief, though, is that you could only be at rock bottom for so long, and once she'd moved past that - because she had to, her family needed her - she didn't have anything to blame her odd behavior on anymore. She ran through the symptoms in her head, hoping beyond hope that she was wrong, that she'd misinterpreted them, because she was strong but she didn't think she could be that strong, could be ready for this now. It was futile, though, and she knew it. Fatigue. Increased intake in nutrients. Mood swings. Nausea. Soreness in the chest plates. There was really only one thing it could be - unless it was two, but she didn't even want to consider that possibility.

Arcee took a deep intake of cool air, tightening her grip on the edge of her berth. She could do this. It was just one little scan. One simple little thing. She had taken on the deadliest of Decepticons, survived a war that engulfed a planet, crash landed in the middle of an alien civilization and lived to befriend it's children. She could do this. Arcee carefully began her self scan. It wouldn't be as accurate as a medic's scan, she could even screw it up, but she wasn't ready to go to Ratchet. That would make it too real, too soon. She had to do this herself.

She thought she'd braced herself for the results, but she supposed nothing ever really prepared you for something like this. She checked them again, just to be sure. And then she tripled checked. They were the same every time. Arcee laid down on the berth, curled up as tightly as she could manage. There was no changing reality. Cliffjumper was dead. They were at war on an alien planet. And she was carrying a sparkling. Arcee closed her eyes, and wondered if her world would ever stop crashing down around her.

* * *

So, A Perfect Mix was liked well enough, and I've decided to roll with my sparkling stories idea. Twists & Turns will focus mostly on Arcee carrying Cloudjumper, but will also act as in introduction for Nova, an OC. The intended sequel, Catching A Nova, will focus on Starscream, Nova, and their sparkling. I don't have any other pairings set in stone yet, (though Optimus/Ratchet miiight happen), so I'm open to suggestions on that.

The prologue is a little sad, because Arcee is in a stressful position, not don't worry, it gets sweet!


	2. Time To Think

Title: Twists & Turns - Time To Think

Disclaimer: I own nothing, save for obvious OCs.

* * *

Arcee came online that morning feeling like someone had taken a drill to her optics. Groaning, she rolled to a sitting position on the edge of her berth and buried her helm in her hands, rubbing dried coolant off her faceplate. She was a little ashamed to admit she'd had a bit of a breakdown, now that to was over. At least, she hoped it was over. It hadn't achieved anything accept making her feel like slag. What she really needed was to think, and she couldn't do that here.

Arcee left her room, moving through the hallways as swiftly and quietly as she could. She didn't want to have to talk to anyone or answer any questions until she'd had the chance to think this through for herself. Despite what most people would assume about giant robots, she was actually quite stealthy. She blamed getting caught at the exit by Ratchet on being totally out of it for obvious reasons.

"Arcee? Where do you think you're going?" Ratchet's voice was gruff, but beneath the seemingly ever present irritation there was obvious - for him, anyway - concern.

Arcee considered switching to her altmode and hauling aft before Ratchet could ask anymore questions, because honestly, he was the last bot she wanted to run into right now. He'd been watching her like a hawk the last few days, always with the same intent, concerned look in his optics. Arcee was almost certain he suspected. Maybe he'd even caught onto the truth before she had. He was a medic, after all. Reluctantly, she turned to face him, knowing that if she ran off he'd probably send Bumblebee or Bulkhead to hunt her down, and she wouldn't get any alone time.

"Patrol." The answer was almost automatic, she and used it so many times. Sometimes it was the truth, because honestly she got antsy just sitting around. Sometimes she met up with Cliffjumper instead and acted young and reckless and in love. And now she was using it to sneak off and wonder if she could handle raising their sparkling alone. She had to blink her optics a few times to fight the sudden urge to cry, and Ratchet's optics narrowed in suspicion. Damn emotionally unstable Carrier protocols.

"Really, Ratchet, I'm fine. I just . . . I need to think."

For a moment he looks like he wants to say something, but he just nods in understanding and turns away, and she let's out an intake she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Arcee shifted to her altmode and fled before anyone else could hold her up. She raced towards the rising sun, no destinations in mind, no anything in mind. Just the feel of sand flying beneath her wheels and wind whipping against her frame. She didn't keep track of how far or how long she drove, she just flew as fast as she could, and didn't slow down until the energy signatures of her family and comrades faded away.

Arcee braked hard and transformed back to her bipedal form, and immediately sat down on her aft, taking deep intakes in an effort to help her overworked cooling system. Fantastic, her heating systems were going haywire. It was just her luck she'd get every symptom you could think of. Fatigue, nausea, cravings, hot flashes, mood swings - ah, the joys of parenthood.

Parenthood. Arcee glanced down at her chassis, and gingerly pressed a hand to her chest plate. Her sparkling would be little more than a tiny, glowing ball right now. A barely formed spark, only just settling into her gestation chamber, below it's previous home in her spark chamber. She wondered if it would be a mech or a femme. A little blue femme, perhaps, or a bulky red mech. She didn't think she had a preference. She didn't know if Cliffjumper did. They'd never talked about sparklings, but she was almost certain he'd have been ecstatic to be a creator. He'd have fussed over her while she carried, came up with ridiculous names to make her laugh. She wondered if their sparkling would have his laugh.

She felt a rush of love and acceptance, and this time when coolant welled in her optics it was out of joy. She couldn't deny this would be hard, to have and raise a sparkling without it's creator, in the midst of a war, on a planet that hardly accepted them. But it didn't matter that it would be hard, she would do it. This sparkling was something special. It was a beacon of hope for a dying race, and it was the last gift from the mech she loved. The mech who owned half of her spark. She looked up to the sky, a smile on her face - and then it faltered. Something glinted in the morning sun, on top of that ridge. She focused her optics to get a better look - and the calm was shattered by an earthquaking explosion.

* * *

Chapter One, Part One, ccomplete. I get to introduce you to Nova next, which will be a lot of self indulgent fun. Poor Arcee can't catch a break it seems, she's all over the place with pregnancy woes. And Cliffjumper would definitely have been the fun dad.


	3. Didn't Think It Through

Title: Twists & Turns - Didn't Think It Through

Disclaimer: Don't own Transformers.

* * *

Nova didn't like to admit, but she had this bad habit of letting her restlessness get the better of her, and it almost always lead to stupid or regrettable decisions. It wasn't really her fault, though. The Nemesis wasn't exactly fun oriented, and she wasn't allowed to go out for flights nearly as often as she'd have liked. If she didn't have something to distract her from how long she'd been grounded, she lost a bit of her common sense. So when she'd overheard Command- ah, Lord Starscream talking about some possibly unstable energon pocket that needed to be checked out immediately, she'd leapt at the chance to leave the ship.

Now that she was on a ridge in the middle of nowhere with grit in her delicate joints and the sun forcing her cooling system to kick into overdrive, her common sense was quickly returning and she felt like kicking herself. Being out in the desert all day was bad enough, but poking around for potentially unstable energon? She could get herself offlined, and just when things were starting to get interesting, or at the very least different, around here.

Nova stared intently at the deep crack along the surface of the ridge, noting the ominous blue light flickering faintly within it. She did not have a good feeling about this. Maybe she could not and say she did? No, that probably wouldn't work, and she had volunteered to do this, it would be an endless source of embarrassment if she didn't have the bearings to see it through. Nova sighed and, cringing at the thought of scraping her freshly touched up paint (bless Knockout for always having the perfect shade), spread out flat on the ground so she could peer over the edge of the crack.

It was, she judged, too small for most bots to get at. She was fairly small herself, with the lightweight frame of a Seeker, and even without her significant wingspan she wouldn't have been able to slip in. She wished she'd had the foresight to bring Score; her eccentric friend was hardly larger than a human and probably would've been better suited for the job. Annoyed, she pulled herself closer and leaned into the crack, as far as her wings would allow, and reached for a glimmer of blue. If she could only obtain a small sample - she dug her claws into the rock wall, grinning in triumph as a shard of crystalized energon came loose in her grasp. Her victory was extremely short lived. The wall crumbled, sending hunks of rock raining down on the flickering blue light at the bottom of the crack. She blinked her optics.

"Oh frag."

Nova rolled away, onto her servos, and launched herself towards the edge of the ridge. If she could only transform before - the crack exploded behind her, and all rational thought flew out the window as the sound and light blinded her senses. She wasn't even aware she was falling until she bounced off the ground and collided with a boulder. Groaning in pain, she managed to pull herself up onto all fours, coming back to her senses just in time to hear someone shouting, _"What in the Pit?!"_

 ** _Frag._ ** Nova bolted upright, instinctively aiming her canon at . . . that blue femme on the Autobot side? What the pit was she doing here? Another explosion rocked the ground, causing both bots to flail awkwardly in an attempt to stay on their feet. Right, survive first, fight later. Arcee - she thought it was Arcee anyway - must have come to the same conclusion, because they both bolted for the nearest form of shelter at nearly the same moment. As they dove into the mouth of some sort of cavern, they glanced at each other, wearing identical looks of curiosity, as a third explosion brought a chunk of the ridge raining down on them. _They were so fragged._

* * *

Squints at this chapter. I don't think I like it. The next chapter will be much better. You'll learn who Nova actually is and there will be sparkling talk. I think you pick up here that she's kind of vain, and a bit prone to trouble. And she swears. Shrugs.


	4. Unexpected Help

Title: Twists & Turns - Unexpected Help

Disclaimer: Don't own Transformers.

* * *

Nova dove to the ground a nano-klick before a massive hunk of rock could take her helm off. Smaller bits of debris bounced off her wings, making her wince. Cursing in every language and dialect she could think of, she flipped back on her feet and whirled around to stare in horror as the cave entrance came crashing down. Her eyes flickered involuntarily to the small blue bot stumbling back from the wreckage. A piece of the ceiling crumbled. The bot curled in on herself, shielding her chassis, as though trying desperately to protect something.

Nova took a deep intake as something shifted sharply in her processor. Long forgotten protocols screamed to life, overriding her systems. She didn't even register that she'd moved until the blast surged from her cannon, shattering the threat to the bot into harmless bits. Nova let her arm lower, caught completely off guard by her own actions. She'd always been impulsive, but just what the hell was _that_?

* * *

A chunk of rock bounced off her stabilizing servo, sending Arcee flying to the ground. She barely managed to catch herself before she slammed her chassis into the ground, rolled out of the way of another homicidal chunk, and sprang back up. Pain shot through her servo, white hot and protesting, and she stumbled forward. She didn't see the ceiling falling down on her until it was too late.

Unable to dodge it, she instinctively ducked her helm and wrapped her arms around her chassis, offering her sparkling what protection she could. She waited for the impact. Instead, she heard the unmistakeable sound of a plasma cannon. Arcee lifted her helm, blinking at the smoldering remains of her attacker. She spun around and stared at the Decepticon, wanting some sort of explanation, but the Seeker looked just as shocked as she felt. They stood there, optics locked, equally confused, until the 'Con abruptly turned away.

"Come on." She said, walking swiftly down into the cave, "It's not safe here. We should find a way out."

Arcee stared after her, conflicted. She was a Decepticon, an enemy, she couldn't be trusted. So why had she protected her? Following her was probably a bad idea, but she realized she didn't really have much choice. If they tried to clear out the rocks at the entrance, the whole thing was likely to cave in on them. It was deeper or nothing, and she'd never been very good at doing nothing. With a resigned sign, Arcee limped after the Seeker.

Her servo wasn't pleased with her insistence in using it, but it turned out she didn't have to go far. Arcee rounded a curve, and there was the Decepticon, cursing and kicking at a wall of rocks. Arcee swore and rushed to the blockade, resisting the urge to join in on the kicking.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me! Fragging - can we get through it?"

"Fragging son of a glitching - _slag_!" Nova shouted, giving one final kick before she dropped down to sit on a boulder, helm in her servos, "No! It's too thick, it would take us ages and it would probably just fall on us. We're trapped until someone gets us out. _Primus_ , please tell me your team knows where you are?"

Arcee was silent, eyeing the other warily. No, they didn't know where she was. They probably wouldn't notice she gone for a few hours, either, and energon explosions had this nasty habit of frying things like comms. She wasn't sure she wanted her "companion" to know she was on her own. The Seeker seemed to piece it together on her own, though, and she groaned loudly.

"Great! The one time I could benefit from Autobot morals, they're going to leave me to die in a hole!"

Arcee scowled, feeling defensive of her family. "They'll come! They just have to find me! I don't suppose anyone is coming for _you_?"

Now it was Nova's turn to fall silent, because she didn't really know the answer to that. Megatron wouldn't have looked for her. Would Starscream? She was loyal to him, and he hadn't won much loyalty yet - would that mean anything? And then there were her friends. Would the four of them search until they found her, or would they move on, shift the leadership role to Acid Rain and survive without her?

"Maybe." She said slowly, her spark aching at the thought of being left for dead by the only semblance of family she had left, "But it wouldn't be for a day or two. I tend to wander when they let me out, they won't think any thing's wrong for awhile."

Arcee took a step back, against the wall of the cave, and slowly sank to the ground as realization dawned on her. They were trapped here, for hours or even days, and one of them was going to be found by the enemy. She didn't think the situation could get much worse, until she glanced up at Nova and saw the brightness of her eyes, noticed the subtle prodding through her systems. She was being scanned, and she hadn't noticed until it was too late. Nova's eyes widened, her mouth plates hung upon.

"You - you're _sparked_!" She stammered, shocked by the revelation. There hadn't been a sparkling born since, well, since she was a sparkling! And the only bot she knew of even close to her age was Bumblebee. She hadn't even thought it was still possible for them to reproduce.

Arcee hissed and sprang up into a fighting stance, ignoring the pain shooting up her leg. Nova leapt to her feet, alarmed, and held out her servos.

"Whoa, hey! Shift gears, Arcee!" She protested, her instinct to protect increasing immensely now that she knew why she was feeling it, "You shouldn't be standing on that, it's damaged. I have some medic training, let me - "

Nova took a step forward and then froze as Arcee snarled at her, canons flashing dangerously, "Stay back, Decepticon!"

"What - I'm not going to hurt you! You're carrying, for Primus' sake!" She snapped, sounding disgusted and offended. She dropped down to her knees, so that she was shorter than Arcee, not that she was more than a few feet taller than her anyway. "Look, I'm exposed here! Come on, put the canon away and sit down, or shoot me in the helm if you have to. But I would never hurt a sparkling. I'd never sink to such a disgusting low."

The sincerity in her tone and her gesture honestly shocked Arcee. She could offline the Seeker so easily, and the other femme had no reason to think she wouldn't. Arcee flicked her headlights on, and examined the Con before her. She could see in the dark, of course, but it had a way of hiding details. Like the way the femme's dark purple paint glittered when she moved, or how young her eyes were. She was an adult, yes, but not by much. She was certainly younger than Arcee, and she felt suddenly bad for pointing a canon at her. No wonder she was so brash and impulsive, even as a Decepticon, she still had the air of youth to her, the faintest hint of innocence. Arcee lowered her canon and sank back to the ground.

Nova let out the intake she'd been holding and slumped against the boulder she'd been sitting on with a weak laugh. "Thanks for not shooting me, Arcee, I appreciate it."

"You know my name." Arcee said, suspiciously, "What's yours?"

"I don't have a name." The answer was bitter and automatic, and technically true. She didn't really have a name, not since she was plucked from the grasp of her dying Carrier and handed off to the dronemasters. There were only four people she trusted with her secret designation, and she wasn't even completely sure it was right. Her gaze flicked to Arcee's injured servo. "You're leaking energon and fluid. Let me help."

"I'm supposed to trust someone without a name to work on me?" Arcee countered, giving her a sharp look.

"It's not like I can offline you through your slagging foot!" Nova countered angrily, before falling silent for several moments. She signed in defeat. "Nova. My friends call me Nova. It's what my carrier used to . . . I mean, sort of, I think . . . "

"Sort of, you think? What does that mean?" Arcee asked, frowning.

"I never knew my creator. Offlined before I emerged, I guess. My carrier died when I was really young, just after landfall. The Decepticons found us. She was in stasis lock, still holding onto me. Guess Megatron thought I could be useful, because he had me tossed in with the dronelings. I had a number, not a name. Nova is all I remember, but I don't think that's all of it. A part of it, probably, but I don't . . . don't remember all of it. I don't remember my own name."

Arcee was silent as the reality of what she'd been told sank in. Anger and hatred boiled up inside her at the thought of a sparkling, tiny and terrified and defenseless, torn from her parent and stripped of her identity, raised to be little more than a slave. She knew Megatron was a monster, but he always seemed to find shocking new ways of proving it.

Nova scratched at the dirt and rock beneath her, gouging lines with her claws as she fought to force down an onslaught of emotion. She didn't speak of her carrier often, it was unnecessary, and Megatron had certainly frowned upon it. It still hurt her spark to remember that loss.

"I guess my servo could use a little work."

Nova looked up, a little surprised, and smiled. It was a small display of trust, but trust of was. She wasn't sure why she cared so much that this little Autobot trusted her, but she chalked it up to her instincts to protect the young she was carrying.

"Up, boulder, sit." Nova demanded, hauling Arcee up and plopping her on the rock before her injured servo even touched the ground, "And sit still."

Arcee blinked, a little overwhelmed by the swift movement, and warily eyed the overzealous Seeker. "Are you always like this when you repair some - ow!"

"I'm told so, yes." Nova tightened her grip on Arcee's servo, keeping her optics on the damage, "Hold still, you know it'll hurt. It's a little crushed. I can stop the leaking, but that's about it. You'll need to spend some time in your medbay after this."

"Ratchet will be so thrilled." Arcee said dryly, practically hearing the lecture she was in for already.

Nova gave a snort of amusement, and they fell into surprisingly comfortable silence, the only sounds the scraping of metal and Arcee's occasional grunt of pain.

" . . . I'm sorry about Cliffjumper." Nova said suddenly, breaking the silence and making Arcee stiffen, "I know you probably don't believe me, but I am."

Arcee was silent.

* * *

I know I use both Cybertronian and human measurements of time, but that's because they're, you know, different. I also know this is kinda Nova-centric, but she had to prove to Arcee she wasn't gonna blast her or something. Next chapter will be more Arcee-centric.

So, we know a bit about Nova now. Megatron figured having a Seeker who follows orders without constantly plotting against him would be convenient. Unfortunately Nova, though not openly treacherous, was never his biggest fan. She's always been subtly rooting for Starscream.

I still haven't actually figured out what what Nova's full name was, but her carrier was a femme named Spotlight. Reviews would be appreciated. I function almost solely on reviews and coffee.


	5. Lending An Audio Receptor

**Title:** Twists  & Turns - Lending An Audio Receptor

 **Disclaimer:** Don't own Transformers.

 *****Note:** This chapter also included hinted Knockout/Breakdown and Optimus/Ratchet.

* * *

"There, that should do it! Now just twist it around a bit, make sure nothing's just gonna burst open."

Arcee made a face, not at all appreciating Nova's choice of words. The thought of bleeding out in a dark, dirty cave was not a pleasant one, and definitely not the way she wanted to go out. "Death by kicking a rock." With her luck someone would carve that into her tombstone. She moved her foot around anyway, and was pleasantly surprised to find that not only had the leaking stopped, but it hurt less too.

"Hey, you're not terrible at this."

Nova snorted and took a seat on her boulder. "I better not be. It'd be a shame if all those little lessons with Knockout were a waste."

"Knockout, huh?" Arcee asked, a little surprised, "Never pegged him for much of a teacher."

"Well, he's irritating, arrogant, vain, sure." Nova said, her tone growing fonder with each insult, "But he's pretty bearable, once you get to know him."

"You're close?" Arcee prodded, curious about the idea of Decepticons forming relationships. She'd always thought they had no real loyalty to anyone but themselves, but there seemed to be exceptions to this rule.

"In a way." Nova agreed, then seemed to consider it and quickly clarified, "In a totally platonic, mentor kinda way."

Arcee thought it over for a minute, and then gently touched above her gestation chamber. "So if you have training, from a medic . . . the scans, did they seem alright?"

"Seemed fine to me. Nice strong spark. You aren't very far along, protoforms barely starting to form. Can't tell you if its a mech or a femme yet, sorry." Nova's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Didn't your medic tell you all of this?"

". . . I haven't, exactly, told them . . . quite yet." Arcee admitted, looking up at the ceiling to avoid the Seeker's harsh stare.

"And why not?" Nova demanded, agitated, "You should be having scans done and taking supplements. Do you understand how big this is?"

"Do you?!" Arcee snapped, enraged at being judged by a Decepticon of all things, "Do you know how big it is to wake up after crying yourself to recharge and remember you're carrying the sparkling of a mech you haven't even finished mourning yet?! To know that you're carrying a life you'll have to raise alone, because the person you love is never coming back to you?! I'm carrying the first sparkling in, in Primus only knows how long! I could be sparked with the future of our race, Nova. Do you know how big that is?! Do you know how hard that is?!"

Arcee brought her knees up to her chest plate and wrapped her arms around them, hiding her face from view. She was venting hard, trying to calm her violent emotion, but at least she wasn't still bottling all that pressure up anymore.

"I bet you feel better now."

Arcee lifted her helm and stared at Nova, who wore an understanding expression. She felt her anger slip away. "Yeah, I do. Sorry for - "

Nova waved a hand dismissively, not all bothered. "Don't worry, I'm used to yelling. Besides, you needed that. You feel better now that you've shared with me, and you'll feel better once you tell them, too. I've heard all about you Autobots - you're a family. You won't be going through this alone. And hey, I know I'm just Decepticon scum, but I've got an audio receptor if you feel the need to unload again."

"You're awfully nice for a member of Megatron's evil army." Arcee said, grinning weakly.

Nova laughed, the sound edged with bitterness. "I may have been raised by his dronemasters, but I've never really considered myself his soldier . . . always have liked Starscream better. Less beating, doesn't bring home dark energon and lose whatever mind he had, understands the importance of letting a girl fly every once in awhile."

"Awfully fond of him, aren't we?"

Nova tensed, and a grin flashed across Arcee's face. She'd definitely just hit the mark.

"Don't even go there." Nova said, her voice several octaves higher than normal, "Do you have any preference?"

" . . . preference?"

"For the sparkling. Mech or femme?"

"Oh." Arcee said, recognizing the diversion tactic but rolling with it anyway, "No, not really. Never really thought about it. Cliff would probably have rooted for a mech - though I can see him doting over a femme. What would you want, if you ever sparked?"

"If I ever sparked? Well, uh, a femme I suppose, since there's so few of us, but I'd love a mech just as much. I don't see that happening anytime soon, but if it did . . . " Nova looked to the ceiling, expression dreamy, "I'd name them after something in the sky, after a cloud or a star. Something beautiful and adored and free."

"A cloud, huh? I like that." Arcee peered thoughtfully upward for a moment, before her expression shifted to mischievous. "So, is this sparkling gonna be with Knockout, or Starscream?"

Nova made a strange choking sound, and flailed her hands about awkwardly. "What - no - why would you - dating Knockout would be like dating my step brother or something! Besides, he's all over Breakdown! And Starscream - "

"Whoa, whoa, hold up! Knockout and Breakdown at dating? Man, I totally owe Bumblebee an astrolitre of high grade."

Nova sputtered. "You guys actually make bets about our relationships?"

"Come on." Arcee said, rolling her optics, "Tell me you guys don't do the same with us."

Nova snorted and shook her helm. "We don't need to take bets, it's pretty obvious what Optimus Prime and Ratchet are up to when we're not around."

Arcee's optics widened. Nova's jaw dropped.

"By the AllSpark, I was _joking_! But they _are_ , aren't they? They really are an old married couple!" Nova broke into a fit of giggles, while Arcee loomed mortified.

"You can't tell them you know! Ratchet will murder me with a wrench! Nova, stop laughing!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Nova apologized, struggling to pull herself together. After she managed to stop wheezing, there was silence for all of three klicks before she broke it. "Maybe we should set them up on a double date."

Both femmes burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter.

* * *

Ah yes, some bonding with a dash of gossip. I'm way more into this friendship than I thought I would be, they're great. Also, conversation that hints at their sparklings names, yay.

I wrote two chapters today, just because it was so hot I didn't leave my porch swing. Thanks for reading, reviews would be appreciated.

* * *

 **Airreon Princess** \- Thanks for the review, and the offer, but I've got this sparkling planned out. And, as it so happens, Nova does contribute to their name. Though, I wouldn't mind suggestions for other sparklings, of any pairing, if you'd like to share any ideas for that.


	6. Rescue Cons?

**Title:** Twists  & Turns - Rescue Cons?

 **Disclaimer:** Don't own Transformers.

* * *

" - and then he launches himself over this ridge, sticks the landing, does a few donuts just to show off, and takes off! And all these cops cars, at least eleven of them, slam on their breaks, and all the organics are just staring after him with their jaws in the dirt!"

Nova was laughing so hard she thought her intakes might burst. "Oh man! That's great! I bet he caught some serious air - for a grounder. We would have gotten along great. Uh, you know, besides the whole Auto-Con thing."

"Yeah . . . " Arcee trailed off, and the laughter gave way to silence.

Arcee had never felt conflicted about fighting before. It was what she did, what she was best at, and it was for the right reasons. And it had been against strangers, or monsters. She supposed it was natural, to demonize the enemy. It was easier to kill them that way. Now she was as close to mixed up as she'd ever been. Nova had reminded her that they weren't just Decepticons, they were Cybertronians, and not all of them had chosen to be what they were. It wouldn't stop her from fighting, but it might make it a little harder to recharge at night.

Arcee glanced to her left, taking in the delicate form beside her. Nova probably would have hated the term, but it was accurate. She was barely three feet taller than Arcee, with even thinner, sharper limbs. Probably weighed half as much, even with her wingspan - it was a Seeker thing. Over the last few joors, they'd shifted so they were sitting side by side against the rocks. In contrast to Arcee, who was sitting straight with her back pressed against a rock, Nova had pulled her knees to her chest plate and wrapped her arms around them, leaning forward to avoid scraping her already scuffed wings against the rocks. Her frame shook at steady intervals, indicating her intakes were still recovering from the laughing fit, and it made Arcee wonder if their was some sort of damage to them. Or maybe it had just been too long since she'd laughed that way - Arcee hadn't done it herself since Cliffjumper offlined.

"What do you see in Starscream?" She asked abruptly, noting the way Nova's wings tensed and then dropped in defeat.

"You aren't gonna let it go, are you?" Nova asked, sounding absolutely mortified that she was being urged to actually share her feelings out loud.

"Nope." Arcee said cheerfully, "I told you all about Cliffjumper, so spill, femme."

Nova groaned, waving her arms and wings in jerky motions as she spoke, indicating her discomfort.

"I don't know! I mean, I know all the reasons I shouldn't like him, and not just because I'm told what they are constantly. His ego is so big I'm surprised his massive helm can fit on the Nemesis. He's unpredictable and unreliable and he bumbles everything. He's cowardly and paranoid and _Primus_ , he's always up to something! Obviously, I shouldn't like him."

Nova paused, and when Arcee had nothing to say, she continued, her voice softer.

"But you know . . . I never liked Megatron. Then I got older, and I hated him. And you know what I did about it? Nothing. I was obedient, I held my tongue. Never gave him reason to look at me twice. I wasn't content, but I pretended I was and never even tried to change anything. But Starscream . . . I mean, here was this Con everyone thought of as cowardly and weak, and there he was, second in command, challenging Megatron at every turn. Maybe it was stupidity, or maybe it was bravery, or maybe he's just screw loose but . . . I wish I had what it took to act on my ambitions."

There was silence, as both femmes took a breem to mull over what had just been said, and then Nova broke it, surprisingly timid. "You know . . . you told me stories, but you didn't really tell me why you loved him."

"What can I say, he saved my aft." She tried for a chuckle, but it sounded weak and empty, so she sighed and tried again.

"He did, though. I had a partner, Tailgate, on Cybertron. He was family, and when I . . . lost him, I tried to shut people out." She was vague, avoiding going into detail and dredging up the trauma, "Cliffjumper didn't let me, and I owe him so much for that. And he was headstrong, and foolish, and brave . . . he was a great warrior, and loyal, and he could always make me laugh. He was just . . . right."

There was another brief silence, and then, "I think you should go for it."

Nova sputtered, completely thrown off by the statement, and swung her helm up to gawk at Arcee. "What?"

"Go for it." Arcee repeated, confident despite the fact she was giving her enemy relationship advice, "Don't shut what you feel out. Yeah, maybe it'll all go to pit, but whatever happens at least your life will be different. You've already said you hate where you are in life, so what've you really got to lose?"

Nova gave a disbelieving laugh. "Yeah . . . yeah, why not go for it? I mean, worse case scenario is someone offlines me, and that almost happens all the time."

Arcee slumped back against the rock, exhausted from all the energy being diverted to the developing protoform, and wondered if Nova's nonchalant attitude towards offlining should surprise her. It was probably sort of sad that it didn't, that death at a young age was almost expected now. Arcee sighed as she fought against the pull of recharge. Carrying was demanding, and one of the many reasons it could be dangerous was that it often forced bots into recharge. She may have liked Nova, but that didn't mean she trusted her. No, she was absolutely not going to -

Nova nearly jumped as Arcee's helm fell against her shoulder. She managed to curb the reaction, and turned her own helm to stare at Arcee in shock. She had fallen into recharge. Nova relaxed a little as she realized neither of them were in any danger, at least not yet. Though she didn't want to, she couldn't help but think about what would happen when they made it out of this cave. They were enemies, and Nova wasn't about to jump ship and ditch the Cons anymore than Arcee would ditch the Autobots. Still, Nova couldn't let anything happen to Arcee, not while she was carrying.

And just what would she tell the others? From what she heard, Megatron hadn't had much of a problem with slaughtering younglings, which meant there were s good number of Decepticons out there who would do it, too. Starscream had a fondness for sparklings, but she wasn't sure if that fondness would keep Arcee safe or not. If she said nothing, though, no one would even consider holding back. Of course, this was all considering she got back to the Nemesis, and wasn't taken prisoner by an Autobot rescue team. They may have fancied themselves the good guys, but they could be brutal when it suited them. She didn't much like the idea of being tortured for information.

"I am never going on an energon hunt again." Nova declared firmly, to nobody. Primus, she hoped someone got here soon.

* * *

Nova was so startled when she jerked out of recharge that she didn't even notice the weight on her shoulder until she had leap to her feet, and heard the groggy cursing behind her. She turned just in time to see Arcee swinging her canon wildly. With an undignified shriek, Nova dove to the side to avoid a wild discharge. Arcee froze, her optics widening as she realized what she'd just done.

". . . Uh, I won't tell anyone about the shriek if you don't mention the wild shot."

"Deal." Nova agreed, knowing she'd never live it down if the Vehicons heard about this.

Something crashed at the entrance of the cave, making them jump. No wonder they had woken up. They shared a nervous look.

"Sounds like the rescue party finally arrived."

"Stay here, I'll go first." Nova ordered.

"Excuse me?" Arcee asked, bristling at the order, "I don't -"

"You have a sparkling to look after." Nova reminded sharply, which stopped Arcee in her tracks, "If its Decepticons, they'll shoot first and ask questions later. Let me just see who's out there."

As much as Arcee loathed to admit it, Nova had a point, so she crossed her arms and reluctantly watched as the Seeker disappeared around the corner.

For her part, Nova was feeling less confident than she appeared. She really didn't want to be taken prisoner. As she moved closer to the entrance, she realized the rocks on top had been cleared away, and she could glimpse the night sky. Caution overpowered by excitement, Nova scrambled up the remaining rocks and stuck her helm out - only to immediately yank it back in to avoid being beheaded day a swinging silver saw.

"Score!" She yelled, torn between her annoyance and how grateful she was to see the little eight foot mech.

"Nova? Hey, its Nova! We found her!" Score shouted, before disappearing from view.

Nova stuck her head back out, and was delighted to see the little silver mech on the ground, standing beside a massive gray femme. "Ironbunker! You sure are a sight for sore optics - anyone else here?"

Ironbunker shook her helm. "Just us."

"Perfect!" Nova declared, turning her helm to shout back into the cave, "Arcee, you can come out! These guys won't - _ack_!"

Nova dove forward as energy blasts peppered the rocks around her, throwing herself out of the mouth of the cave and onto the ground.

"It's Bulky and the Bee! We gotta - " Whatever Score was going to say was cut off by the metallic clang of something bouncing off his helm, and he collapsed, unconscious.

Nova rolled back onto her pedes and aimed a death glare at Ratchet, who had just arrived. "Don't you pick on him! He's just a little thing!"

"Better surrender, Cons, we don't go easy just because you're femmes." Bulkhead ordered, pointing his weapon at Nova.

Ironbunker took a thundering step forward, her arm morphing into a massive canon as her expression turned stony. "Do not threaten the youngling."

Bumblebee made a series of beeps that sounded suspiciously like 'uh oh' and Nova groaned loudly.

"Bunker, I'm not a youngling anymore! Don't call me that in front of the Bots, its embarrassing!"

Arcee chose that moment to pop out of the cave. "Wait, you guys, don't!"

"Don't?" Bulkhead asked, confused.

"Four against two." Ironbunker observed, then glanced at her unconscious partner and the beat up Seeker, "Retreat?"

"Retreat." Nova agreed, transforming into a small jet and soaring away, despite the burning protest in her wings.

Ironbunker scooped up her partner, transformed into a large tank, and drove away. Bumblebee beeped, asking if they should pursue.

"No!" Arcee shouted, gaining everyone's attention a she slid, with a bit of difficulty, down the remaining rocks and to the ground, "I, uh, I'm damaged. I need repairs. And . . . "

Arcee glanced at Ratchet, who had already stomped over and started grumbling and scanning her, "I have something important you all need to know."

* * *

Woo, they finally escape! And you get to meet two of Nova's weirdo friends, fun. Score is basically a good natured bit kind of cowardly dork with way too much energy. Ironbunker is very large, pretty quiet. Intelligent but doesn't talk a lot. She's actually pretty peaceful, unless fighting is called for. Score's kind of like a brother or uncle and Ironbunker treats her like a little kid still.

Nova gets another chapter and then we stick with Arcee for a bit. Also the big reveal is coming up.

Right now I'm wrestling with a second story. And by that I mean I have two ideas and I don't know which to write first. I was going to write Seeking Haven - in which, long after the war, a restored Cybertron receives a distress signal from a planet they have not visited in centuries: Earth. They learn the full extent of their influence on Earth, and must decide whether or not they are willing to be drawn into a war they may have inspired, all while dealing with the descendants are of their charges and a new race of technorganics.

Or there's Curiosity & The Cat, which is a mechanic who stumbles across a damaged Ravage and finds herself slightly unwilling medic to a heavily damaged Soundwave and his Cassettes. Basically I need to practice Soundwave and what better way than to give him a sassy human partner/kidnapped mechanic?


	7. My Name

**Title:** Twists  & Turns - My Name

 **Disclaimer:** Still don't own Transformers.

* * *

Starscream was in a less than stellar mood. Megatron's apparent death had greatly shaken the Decepticon's morale, and only about a handful of bots were willing to support him as leader. Everyone else was far too stingy with their loyalty, despite the fact he'd proven himself more than capable during the three years Megatron had been off on some wild goose chase in space. To make matters worse, he'd recently been informed that three of those bots were MIA.

Apparently no one had bothered to inform him when the femme that acted like a drone didn't return on time from her mission because "it was just like her" to "goof off in the sky for joors." (He mentally catalogued that as possible evidence she wasn't as drone like as she portrayed.) Starscream was less than pleased. Regardless of how truly obedient to Megatron, or him, she was or wasn't, she was a Seeker, and their dwindling population couldn't afford to lose a single member. While he was issuing orders that someone go retrieve her and information on the energon, he was informed that Score and Ironbunker - a couple of oddball but useful Decepticons - had already gone to find her, without his permission or knowledge.

Sure he probably would have sent them anyway, mostly because they would have immediately volunteered, but that was beside the point. How was he supposed to run an evil army when even those supposedly loyal to him just did whatever they wanted to?

"Yo, Starscre - " **_Clang_**.

Starscream flinched at the familiar sound of someone being thumped upside the helm and turned around, narrowing his eyes at the pair of purple mechs that disturbed him. He was greeted with an odd sight. While most standard Vehicons were too similar to tell apart, these two were just different enough to be noticeable. One was scarred, paint and plating melted away in an odd pattern, like he'd stood in acidic rain. The other, who was rubbing his helm and muttering, was considerably less bulky than the rest.

"Excuse me, Lord Starscream," the scrawny one said with forced politeness, while the scarred one rolled his optics in exasperation, "The femmes 're back. N- uh, the jet's in the control room, wants ta fill ya in, or somethin'."

Starscream considered calling him out on whatever he almost said, or at least bothering him about his pattern of speech, but he just wasn't in the mood to fuss. (Also, the mech called him Lord.) Instead he waved them away and stormed off to demand a proper explanation from the femme that started this all.

"Yes, yes, now move!"

* * *

Discord stared after him, annoyed. "He's pushier than Nova is."

Acid Rain shook his scarred helm. "Almost."

* * *

When Starscream entered the control room, he expected to see the femme standing tall and straight, like any self respecting (brainwashed) drone. It was always how she'd acted around him and Megatron before. Instead he found her perched on the table, legs crossed, scraping dirt and dried energon off her claws. Starscream raised an optic ridge and looked her over. He immediately noticed that she was filthy, coated from helm to pedes in dust and small energon burns. Her wings were dented and streaked, and Starscream cringed in sympathy pain. The femme lifted her optics and finally took notice of him. She leaned forward and smiled at him, which only made him more confused.

"Lord Starscream." She greeted smoothly.

Starscream eyed her cautiously, not sure how to take this sudden development of a personality. "Mission Report."

She vented, like she was annoyed to have to think of it. "There was energon at the location, but only a very small, very unstable amount. As you may have guessed by the state of my poor wings, it exploded. I was . . . trapped in a cave with the Autobot, Arcee, who as far as I could tell was there by coincidence."

Starscream perked up at this. "Ah, the motorcycle! You must have battled. How badly did you wound her? Did you gain any intel?"

" . . . I couldn't fight her."

Starscream's expression turned from interest to suspicion. "And _why_ is that?"

There was a tense silence. She covered her mouth plates with her servo, mulling her options over. Finally, she lowered her servo and looked him straight in the optics.

"I'm only telling you this because I trust that you're better then Megaton, and so you'll understand why she can't be harmed." She hesitated again, briefly, "Arcee is sparked."

" _What_?" Starscream was so surprised he wasn't really sure what to do with the new information. There hadn't been a sparkling born since the fall of Cybertron. (With the possible exception of the femme Seeker, who may have emerged shortly before or shortly after the factions fled the planet, no one had bothered to pinpoint her exact age.)

"How is this possible?"

"I'm not sure." She admitted, "But it's true. I scanned her myself. Maybe it's a freak thing, or maybe something's changed. Maybe there's a chance for . . . "

She didn't finish, but she didn't need to. Even she, with as little exposure to Seekers as she'd had, knew their race was dwindling away. If Cybertronians were regaining their ability to reproduce . . .

"I need to think." He announced, "Femme -"

"Nova."

Starscream was growing tired of surprises. "Excuse me?"

"Nova. My name is Nova." She hopped off the edge of the table and sauntered over, "You should remember it, my Lord. I'll be your second in command one day."

". . . Go get yourself repaired!" Starscream ordered, "And get your personality circuits checked while you're at it!"

Nova actually laughed as she stepped past him and strolled out of the room. "Of course, my Lord."

Starscream glared after her. He was going to have to keep a very close optic on that femme.

* * *

"Are you ever going to quit _sulking_?"

Nova lifted her helm and tried her hardest to glare at Knock Out. Unfortunately it wasn't very effective, as the medic was currently blocked from her view by the wing he was repairing.

"All of my beautiful paint, Knock Out! Stripped from my poor, poor wings!"

"Yes, it's a tragedy. I suggest you take this opportunity to paint them something a little less gaudy than solid purple."

Nova hissed, both from the insult and the way Knock Out dug into her tender wing to dislodge a pebble imbedded in the metal. "You're an aft."

"You should be nicer to the mech holding a blowtorch to your wing."

". . . you're a gorgeous aft?"

"I also would have accepted 'you have a gorgeous aft.'"

Nova snorted. "Yeah, I don't think Breakdown would have appreciated that."

"He's aware his bondmate is irresistible, femme."

"My name is Nova."

Knock Out paused, lifting an optic brow. "Is it now? It suits you."

". . . I'm not sure if that's an insult or a compliment." Nova scrunched her faceplates up in thought, "But you know, maybe you're right. Solid purple wings are a little . . . droney. I'm thinking I should go for something a little flashier."

"Then you've come to the right mech." Knock Out said as he leaned in to seal her last few wounds closed, "But before we talk finish, why don't you tell me why your Creator protocols are acting up? And I suggest you tell the truth. Remember: torch, wings."

Nova groaned. "Slaggit."

* * *

*starts a really lame chapter with a really lame pun*

So here's Nova's chapter, as promised. This is about where I intend to start _Catching A Nova_. We probably won't hear from Nova for a bit. Also, the Decepticons officially know about Arcee's situation before the Autobots do. Oops?

Brief Discord and Acid Rain cameo, and a wild Knock Out appears! Nova is taking Arcee's advice and being more herself around Starscream, who is just confused at this point.

I've been wondering whether to keep Arcee single throughout these stories (and _Sparkling Moments_ ) like I originally intended, or have her bond? Opinions?


	8. Telling The Family

**Title:** Twists  & Turns - Telling The Family

 **Disclaimer:** Don't own Transformers.

* * *

The ride home was less than pleasant. The damage to her pede translated to a sharp pain in her break pedal every time it was jostled, which was near constant. Ratchet was furious with her for running off and being damaged, which was always wonderful, and Bumblebee and Bulkhead kept asking her questions about the Con in the cave. She was also starving, and craving all sorts of Cybertronian sweets that didn't really exist anymore. Arriving was even worse.

Arcee was immediately hauled to the makeshift med berth and forced to sit still while Ratchet prodded her injuries and complained about how dirty she was. Bee and Bulkhead had told everyone she was back and had some sort of announcement to make, so everyone, children included, had gathered around to wait. It was highly unnerving to have everyone staring at her while she was trying to figure out how to break the news to everyone. It also didn't help that Miko was trying to goad the others into guessing what her announcement was. Ratchet finally shifted his attention from her pede and began scanning her systems.

Arcee figured she had about a minute before the medic blew the whistle for her, so she exhaled loudly to catch everyone's attention. "So, I think you all should know -"

" _Oh no._ "

"Shut it, Ratchet." Arcee warned, glaring even though Ratchet was behind her, "What I'm trying to say is . . . I'm sparked."

There was silence. Arcee glanced over her shoulder, but Ratchet's face plates were frozen in a mixed expression of shock and horror, so she looked back to the others. They all seemed to still be processing what she'd just said; unsurprisingly, it was Miko who spoke first.

"What the heck does that mean? Is sparked a disease or something?"

"I think . . ." Jack started, staring at Arcee questioningly, "I think it means she's pregnant."

And the room exploded. Bumblebee started beeping and clicking so fast no one could understand him. Raf tried to translate, but even he could only make out every fifth word or so. Ratchet made a noise she'd never heard before that somehow conveyed at least twelve emotions at once.

"You're gonna have a _sparkling_?" Bulkhead sounded absolutely dumbstruck.

Miko whooped and punched the air before throwing an arm around the still confused Jack. "Congrats, Jack, you're gonna be an uncle!"

"Wait . . _what_?"

Ratchet made the noise again. Arcee groaned and buried her helm in her servos, feeling overwhelmed. Someone touched her arm, and she lifted her helm. Optimus Prime had more hope in his optics than she'd seen in vorns. She couldn't help but feel proud that it was her sparkling that brought that hope to the leader of the Autobots himself.

"Arcee." He spoke, and everyone else fell silent, "I know this must be hard for you, knowing Cliffjumper can't be here, but we are family. We will always be here for you, for both of you, through the good and the bad. This sparkling is a miracle, and we protect them from this war."

"A sparkling!" Everyone looked at Ratchet, the serious atmosphere woven by Optimus broken as he continued yelling, "Not again!"

Bumblebee beeped, offended. Arcee glared at him.

"Ratchet is actually rather fond of younglings." Optimus said, amused, "In fact, when -"

"That is not the point!" Ratchet said quickly, "We need to sparkling-proof the whole base, and I need more equipment, and we'll need a sparkling berth."

"Well," Arcee attempted to slide off the med berth, "While you're doing that-"

"Uh uh uh!" Ratchet snapped, "I am going to perform a proper scan on the protoform and then Optimus will escort you to your room, where you will remain on berth rest until we are certain no further damage was done."

" _Fine_." Arcee was irritated, but too tired for an argument with Ratchet. As he went about with his scan, she looked down at the children, who had gathered round her.

"Congratulations, Arcee." Raf said, smiling at her.

"Thanks, Raf."

"This is so exciting!" Miko cheered, "Our first alien robot baby!"

"Miko." Jack said in that warning tone he'd developed specifically for her.

"Be quiet." Ratchet ordered, "It's bad enough I don't have a medbay to kick you out of. Hm, a quinton along, nice strong spark pulse, chest plates are starting to seal . . . the sparkling is healthy. Now go have some energon before you fall over, you're drinking for two!"

Arcee mumbled irritably, but hopped off the berth and headed for energon anyway. She wasn't doing it because he said so, she was just hungry.

"So . . . how does having a sparkling even work?" Miko asked.

The room suddenly emptied of Autobots with surprising speed, save for Ratchet, who peered down at the humans. "I suppose I could give you a lesson on Cybertronian reproduction cycles."

"Huh?" Jack and Raf said together.

"Cool!" Miko said, as excited as ever.

* * *

"I thought 'the talk' from Mom was bad . . . " Jack said, traumatized.

"That was so not cool." Miko agreed with a shiver.

"There are so many words I can never use again." Raf said, his face haunted.

Everyone else was still in hiding.

* * *

And now the Autobots know! Heh, I love Ratchet. And traumatizing children. This was shorter than intended but whatever.

So whether Arcee bonds with someone at some point in the future is still being debated, but she stays single throughout this story so I have time to mull it over.

Also, unrelated question, any female Transformers characters from any verse you'd like to see in a fic?


End file.
